Onward We "March" - One Baby Step at a Time!

Yes, I know you have not heard from us since long now.

That is because we thought that we are going a wee bit overboard with all the pregnancy updates (in our defense, we were really excited to share every lil' news with you). So we thought we just leave that countdown ticker (from Lilypie) up there (which shows the progress that our lil' one is making) and just leave it at that.

Now that it has been 3 months since the last post from Jane, we thought we should say "Hey" and let you know that all is well.

So, here it goes - ALL IS WELL :)

And I can't stop grinning from ear-to-ear whenever someone asks me how Jane is doing. 

Jane shifted back to her parents' place in Kerala during her 5th month. And I have been visiting her on weekends ever since.

On Monday, 16th December 2013 was the baby shower.

The Mallu Hindu baby shower is quite different though and it was a first for me too. Have never seen one before.

Firstly, this one is more-or-less strictly a family affair with just a handful of people. 

Secondly, there are number of savories prepared for the event. The number of items prepared depend on the months of pregnancy that the mom-to-be is in. Although, these days, people rarely prepare them - it is all bought from shops.

Since Jane is currently in her 7th month, there were 7 different items (in no particular order):

1. Laddoo
2. Murrukku
3. Achappam
4. Munthiri Kothu
5. Mysore Pak
6. Unni Appam
7. Pakkavada

These are all mallu names of the items (they known by different names all over India) and a simple search should bring up pictures and recipes if you are interested.

Jane was dressed up in her wedding saree (one of those rare occasions where she is forced to) and was seated on the floor in front of a lamp. The guests gathered then fed small pieces of each savory to Jane, starting with Jane's mom. 

Jane's mom fed tiny pieces of each item first to her and then to me. And whatever was left was put on Jane's lap. After she was done with all the 7 items, I was free to get up.

After Jane's mom, it was the turn of 4 more married ladies (all close relatives) to feed Jane. And after that the other guests followed, including Jane's grandmother, dad and maternal uncle.

Once this was completed, Jane was asked to take the remaining pieces of the savories that her mom had placed on her lap, turn around and walk to her room, accompanied only by her mom.

And that marked the end of the ceremony. Everyone had breakfast, talked about everything that mallus discuss when they gather (Movies and Politics! Duh!) and were on there way.

That is one more milestone done for us. 

For those of you who did notice that the "March" in the title of this post is in double quotes - it is because the due date that the doctors have come up with is 21 March 2014 :D

Fingers Crossed! And, can't wait to get there! 

We will be back soon with more updates, until then, do keep us in your prayers.

- John